Passenger in stolen pickup truck gets probation

A former Prince George woman was sentenced Wednesay to one year probation after the court heard she has changed her life around in the months since she was the passenger in a stolen pickup truck taken for a wild ride in an attempt to evade police.

At the time of the Dec. 19, 2015 incident, Brittany Jean Schram, now 21, was addicted to methamphetamine and had fallen in with two men - Dale Al West, 36, and Colby Selly John Johnson, 33 - who were on a crime spree to get more money to buy drugs.

They stole two pickup trucks in Quesnel but RCMP were on to them. Mounties pinged West's cellphone as they headed north to Prince George on Highway 97 and tracked them down to the Willowcale Forest Service Road just south of the city.

West and Johnson had a history of leading police on chases and, as expected, they took off when they saw the Mounties. With police in pursuit, Johnson jumped out of the pickup he was driving while it was still rolling and let it crash off the side of the road. He got into the pickup West was driving, and where Schram was the passenger, while it was still moving.

Reaching speeds of up to 130 km/h, and with a snowblower in the back, West drove onto Buckhorn Lake Road where RCMP had laid out a spike strip. It flattened the tires on one side of the truck but that was not enough to stop West from turning around and making his way onto Highway 97.

Once on the highway, and travelling at about 100 km/h, he swerved into the oncoming lane and nearly struck two snowplows as well as one of the marked RCMP general duty vehicles heading towards him from the north.

RCMP called off the chase and watched West swerve back over four lanes and roll the pickup into the northbound ditch. Johnson struggled out of the pickup and fled. With the help of a service dog, he was eventually apprehended. West and Schram gave themselves up at the scene.

Apparently scared straight by the time she spent in custody after her arrest, Schram entered a month-long treatment program for addiction after her release and has since secured gainful employment. She also helped RCMP track down two stolen firearms.

Schram pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property over $5,000 and the sentence she received was the result of a joint submission from Crown and defence counsels.

Charges against Johnson and Schram remain before the court. Johnson also remains in custody while Schram is out on bail.

Both West and Johnson remained in custody following their arrests. In April, West was sentenced to a further year in jail and Johnson's case remains before the court.